Inside Llewyn Davis

Can the Coen Brothers do no wrong?  Of course they can (did you watch The Ladykillers?), but this movie is so very right. 

Inside Llewyn Davis is the tale of a young man trying to make his way in the world of folk music during the early 60s.  Most of the film takes place in Greenwich Village.  Davis bounces from couch to couch searching for gigs and irritating those around him.  During our time with him, he'll take in a cat, drive to Chicago, and learn a lot about himself.

What isn't great about it?  Let's do something I usually reserve for cinematic grievances.  Make a list!

1) The music.  Maybe I've just got a soft spot for folk music, but this is a killer soundtrack.  The actors give their all to these songs.  All the songs were performed live which, while a disaster for Les Miserables, works wonderfully in the context of live shows and studio recording sessions.  The highlight is Oscar Isaac, Justin Timberlake, and Adam Driver performing "Please Mr. Kennedy."  Driver's goofy faces during his vocals are incredible.

2) The cinematography.  Bruno Delbonnel earned the hell out of his Oscar nomination this year.  This film is gorgeous.  The muted colors and the soft glow of the light make the film feel depressed and romantic all at once (just like Llewyn Davis himself).  Inside Llewyn Davis looks outstanding even in a year packed with staggeringly beautiful movies.

3) The performances.  Everyone is amazing.  But special recognition needs to go to Oscar Isaac.  His performance as Llewyn Davis is the biggest Oscar snub of the year.  Chalk him up with Chiwetel Ejiofor as another actor who gave us a much better performance than Matthew McConaughey. 

4) The script.  The idea of making a tragedy set in the world of 1960s New York's folk music scene is interesting enough.  But to make that tragedy entirely of the main characters own doing is even more daring.  Then to make us grow to not only sympathize but even love that character by the end of the film takes tremendous skill.  The Coens achieve all of this seemingly effortlessly.  And they still manage to insert several moments of humor. 

Inside Llewyn Davis only has one flaw.  At the very end, right in the middle of a really emotional moment, an actor playing Bob Dylan takes the stage.  This does nothing except pull the viewer out of that moment.  Instead of staying with Llewyn, the audience stops and says, "Hey! That's Bob Dylan!"  I understand the idea of pointing out that people like Bob Dylan were part of that world too, but the song he sings could've just as easily been played on the soundtrack without an actor distracting the audience. 

Other than that, it's a nearly flawless film.  One of the absolute best movies of 2013.  I cannot recommend it enough.

9 out of 10